Un-smart or Revert a Smart Object

[team_graham99]

It'd be very convenient if there was a shortcut key or button that could "revert" or "un-smart" a smart object to what is contained within it. I know you can open the smart object, and drag the contents back to your working PSD, but having a button to toggle between these stages would be very helpful.

If anybody knows an easy way to do this already, please let me know.

Thanks,

Graham

[Chris Cox]

No one step way to do it, and only rarely could it even be done without significant loss.

Smart Objects can have a different depth, resolution, color mode, and profiles relative to the parent document.

Only if EVERYTHING perfectly matched could we take the contents out of a Smart Object and put them in the parent document without loss.

But you can already do that by opening the child and dragging the layers to the parent.

[team_graham99]

Thanks Chris. I was hoping there'd be an easy one-step way to do it, but you're right, there could be many characteristics distinct to the smart object that would not toggle back appropriately to the parent.

[retouchMOJO]

Under the menu "Edit/Menus..." Be sure you are in the "Menu For: Application Menus" tab.

Choose "Layer/Rasterize" and assign the keyboard shortcut of your choice.

[team_graham99]

Thanks Michael but I was looking for a non-destructive way to toggle the smart object layer into an expansion of its contents.

[Gyno-jiz]

Pretty easy to write an action for same depth, same colorspace, non-vector, non-raw smart objects: edit contents, select all layers, move to group, move to previous doc, close and dump old SO. On second thought, you can't really action a drag and drop, can you. As usual, after Chris posts, there'a not really much more (useful) to say...

[Chris Cox]

Maybe I should give you more time before writing my own responses?  🙂

[c.pfaffenbichler]

It could be Scripted including a check for mode, profile, bit-depth etc.

[Reynolds__Mark_ · Accepted solution]

Thanks Michael but I was looking for a non-destructive way to toggle the smart object layer into an expansion of its contents.

Thats the point, it can't be non-destructive if the containing document (what Chris is calling the parent) is a different resolution, mode or bit depth.

If you mean you would like to be able to return multiple layers of the Smart Object intact, into the containing document - then this is a good Feature Request. Of course this could only happen by contextually converting mode, dumping the Adjustment Layers, and resampling the contents of the Smart Object. So a dialog warning would be necessary. This would be a useful feature because it would allow the temporary 'embedding' of layers, to simplify layer structure on complex documents - another use for Smart Objects!  Its a feature I would use.

[team_graham99]

Yes Mark, you are correct. I would like to be able to return multiple layers of the Smart Object intact to the containing document. And the reason being is just as you said, when you have a long and complex layering system, it's handy to convert layer groups (and adjustment layers) into Smart objects which can easily be selected and manipulated.

I look forward to seeing this in the next CS!

[Terry_Veiga]

+1

Sent from my iPhone

[c.pfaffenbichler]

I’m not quite clear on what you want specifically – re-introduce the untransformed layers or get the layers back but with the Smart Object’s transformations applied to them?

[hannes-grebin]

You can just open the smart object and copy all layers within the opened document and paste them back to the file originally containing the smart object.

[Lumigraphics]

You are replying to a 13 year old thread.

[thejanebradbury]

Or even simpler, right-click the Smart Object layer and choose Convert To Layers.

[ChzBrgr]

THIS! I just spent 10 minutes getting back into this adobe acct just to say THIS IS THE ANSWER. Thank YOU!!! All of these other comments are DESTRUCTIVE and you won't be able to edit things like, for example in my case text. You can just double click the little icon in the thumbnail of your smart object "and copy all layers within the opened document and paste them back to the file originally containing the smart object." 

The selected "ANSWER" to this question has got to be a bot response or something because OH MY WORD lol you answered it in ONE SENTENCE lol again thank you for your simple yet very effective answer. You are the MVP of this thread especially answering 13 years later.

[rayek.elfin]

Uhm... No.

Look at @Jeff Arola 's answer below from June 02, 2020. He's given the exact same answer and refers to the related Adobe help pages as well. And that was three years before @thejanebradbury did.

[Jeff Arola · Accepted solution]

Have you tried the newest photoshop 2020 (version 21.0) that includes Convert Smart Object to layers

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/whats-new/2020.html

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/create-smart-objects.html#convert-smart-object-to-layers

[RoséJellié]

@ Jeff Arola 

This doesn't not keep the transformations. Let's say I convert several layers to a smart object, move the smart object to a different position, and make the smart object smaller to fit into the design appropriately. Once I choose "Convert To Layers", the element does not keep its exact position and size.

What I had to do was duplicate the smart object so that I had 2 copies of the element. They both sat directly atop one another — already perfectly positioned & sized within the layout. Then I converted one of the smart objects to layers — it grew larger & moved across the artboard after it was "unpacked". Then I used the first copy of the smart object (still a smart object) as a guide for placement of the second element (the smart object that I converted to layers). I had to re-position & re-size that second element (the one that was once a smart object but has now been converted to layers). Then after it was resized and repositioned, I deleted the smart object that I used as a guide for placement of the unpacked layers.

I wish all those transformations happened automatically with the "unpacking" of the smart object.

[MatejKriz]

This is what I was looking for. Thank you.

[Stephen Marsh]

Just for the sake of completeness, before this was added as a native feature:

https://github.com/joonaspaakko/UnSmart-Objects-photoshop-script

https://www.mightyplugins.cc/magic-scripts